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Algarve Cup will give Canadian women a stiffer test on road to Rio

National soccer team is anxious for better competition after qualifying for Olympics.

Canada had an easy team at Olympic qualifying, until facing the United States. “They just always find a way to win and that’s something we have to change," Canadian captain Christine Sinclair said. (JONATHAN HAYWARD / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Two weeks after earning its berth at this summer’s Olympics, the Canadian women’s national team takes its next step toward Rio with a step up in competition.

The squad will kick off the Algarve Cup in Portugal on Wednesday, where it will face Denmark, ranked 15th in the world, No. 19 Iceland and No. 28 Belgium in the round robin, before potentially moving on to the likes of other heavyweights like New Zealand and Brazil.

After pummelling some little fish in Houston at the recent qualifiers, and giving a game to world champions, the United States, it is time for the Canadians to get back to playing with ― and, more importantly, beating ― the world’s top-ranked sides.

“We held our own for large parts of the game (against the Americans),” Canadian captain Christine Sinclair said after losing to the U.S. 2-0 in Houston two weeks ago. “They just always find a way to win and that’s something we have to change.”

The Canadians will hope to have another chance to best its rivals come August in Brazil. But the changes have to begin before then, with Canada racking up some victories against some more competitive, but beatable, opponents in the next five odd months.

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That test starts Wednesday against Denmark.

The Canadians played 14 games against top 20 ranked teams in 2015, winning half of those matches. And their record since the Women’s World Cup last summer is a lacklustre two wins, two draws and three losses.

Despite the recent loss to the Americans, coach John Herdman has plugged some of the holes that sunk the Canadians last June by relying on younger players.

Portugal is another leg of the trial Herdman has set for the young squad he brought to Texas. He made few changes to the roster travelling overseas.

Starting goalkeeper Erin McLeod is out for the tournament due to a knee injury. Kailen Sheridan, who represented Canada at the Pan Am Games last summer, takes her place. Another 20-year-old, striker Summer Clarke, also joins the 21-player squad.

Still in the mix for Rio, though, is a wider squad of more veteran players.

That group includes the likes of Kaylyn Kyle and Adriana Leon, both of whom were regular substitutes at the World Cup and will play in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) this season.

Herdman won’t guarantee the team in Brazil will be the same squad he fielded in Houston this month. To start, the roster size drops from 20 players to 18 players. And Herdman made three changes to his team four years ago, between the qualifiers and the London Games.

The NWSL, which didn’t exist ahead of the last Olympic , will give players like Kyle and Leon a great opportunity to stake a claim in the Olympic squad, Herdman said recently.

“If you’re able to keep that shirt and have influence on games that I can watch every weekend . . . then you’re in with a chance.”

For now, though, he’s sticking to nearly the same group — a strong mix of youngsters and veterans. The team has learned a lot of late and is poised to learn even more — about itself and the opposition — in Portugal, Herdman said. “Both New Zealand and Brazil will be at the Olympics, so we’ll be taking this opportunity to scout those teams.”

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